User:Andre Castro/2/spam

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Revision as of 19:50, 20 January 2013 by Andre Castro (talk | contribs) (Created page with "I began identifying and describing the characters I find in the spam messages from the database. several reasons sparked my interest for the characters found in spam: * one c...")
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I began identifying and describing the characters I find in the spam messages from the database.

several reasons sparked my interest for the characters found in spam:

  • one character reappears across emails
  • often, if portrayed as a rich character happens to be a real person
  • the rich (real) character (often):
    • is known publicly
    • is rich
    • got killed
    • is referred to in mass-media, specially due to its controversial death
    • left money behind, who the narrator-sender is in possession but needs the email recipient's help to get hold of it
    • is related to other characters (either mentioned or not mentioned on the emails)

What characters do we find?

in spanish prison/fraud emails

  • sender
    • simple kind a guy. Working on a bank or insurance company who proposes a business with you, for the profit of both. It is somehow a corrupt character, but not utterly corrupt. Only wants a bit more than he has, a better living. He is not greedy, or at least is greedy as any of us is. Often he is Africa.
  • the rich man - the source of the money
    • often a rich man, with businesses going on, often in an African country, but he is a foreigner.


in dating/come and marry emails